Crucial decision in Iraq murders court martial

JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. (AP) — A military judge at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington could decide today whether an Army sergeant who fatally shot five fellow service members in Iraq acted with premeditation.

After that determination, a sentencing hearing for Sgt. John Russell is expected to take another week. The 14-year veteran from Sherman, Texas, already has pleaded guilty to five specifications of murder in a plea agreement to avoid a death sentence.

Premeditation is a factor in whether Russell must serve life in prison.